Pain & Pleasure
by Silly-Ren
Summary: SHORT STORY. Edward and Bella have been nothing but mere acquaintances. One day, Bella chooses to take Edward's advice in hopes of bettering her friendship with him; however, things go very differently from what she had hoped for. Rated MATURE! A/H - ExB
1. Pain

**_Pain & Pleasure_**

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**Pain**

**Bella's POV**

Stupid.

Stupid, stupid, _stupid_.

Why did I do it? I knew not to do it. I _knew_ it would end in this. Of course it would have ended in _this_. There was no other outcome because I'm _me_, Bella Swan. There's no way I could have done it and walked away without something aching in pain. That's just how it is.

But still, I did it. Why?

I almost rolled my eyes at myself. I knew _why_. There was a very obvious reason why I did it.

Because _he_ was the one that told me about all the great benefits. He was the one that told me how free it would make me feel, clear my head of all my crazy thoughts. I tried it because _he_ suggested it.

Had it been any other person, I would have laughed in their face. Tell them they obviously didn't know me well enough. Tell them there was no way in hell that doing this would be beneficial for me.

I took another slow step forward and my body screamed in agony.

_Fuck_.

This would take a while.

I looked up the sloping hill and glared at the old, grey building that seemed miles away.

Who in their right mind chooses to take a _jog_ at 5:00 in the freakin' morning?!

_Him_. That beautiful, god-like man that I would pounce if I wasn't certain he would throw me off of him like a diseased animal.

I secretly thanked God that things didn't go according to plan. That I didn't happen to 'accidentally' run into him in the morning while he was taking his daily morning jog so that we could jog together.

We rarely spoke to each other unless we absolutely had to. Just one glimpse of his dazzling green eyes and beautiful bronze hair had my brain turning to mush. I had to always look at my feet when I spoke to him because if I looked up and saw his breath-taking face, I would be rendered unable to form a coherent thought, let alone a response.

It was only about a week ago. We were working on our biology lab reports together. I was having a crazy day to begin with and so when he sat down right next to me in the library, so close that I could feel the heat of him on my skin, my already jumbled thoughts muddled together even more. He was so close. I could feel his breath on my neck and shoulder when he leaned over to say 'hello' and it caused my body to break out in goose bumps.

Just the thought of how close he was to me, how sweet he smelled, made me shiver as my body tingled and throbbed.

He asked me what was wrong and so I told him that I had just been out of it lately, that my thoughts were all over the place. He nodded and understood exactly where I was coming from. Stress from teachers and school got in the way of his work and stress of getting into medical school was always there, eating away at him. He suggested for me to take a jog in the morning because that and playing the piano were the only things he did that actually cleared his mind some.

Seeing as how I was completely inept to anything musical, I chose option A. A nice, morning jog. I probably would have been better off banging my head against a piano than _this_.

If he saw me now, he would probably laugh in my face and walk away disgusted.

My whole right leg was caked with mud. There was also a bit of blood seeping from the gash from when my calf hit the jagged rock at the bottom of the stupid, slippery hill.

Obviously, I should have taken into account that it had rained during the night and so everything would be wet and slippery.

But my mind had been otherwise occupied. It's not an easy task getting those images of his gorgeous bronze hair, those dazzling green eyes, and those lips that begged to be caressed out of one's mind. Damn near _impossible_, if you ask me.

Stupid Edward. Always distracting me without even knowing it.

The agony was still sharp but step-after-step, my body was slowly becoming accustomed to the rhythmic spasms of pain. I took slow steps but was quick to bring my right leg forward so that I didn't put too much pressure on the swollen ankle.

It was probably just a sprain. I had hurt myself more than enough times to know that it wasn't broken. If it were broken, I would probably still be sitting there in that pile of mud screaming for help. And with my luck, Edward probably would have been the one to find me.

The mud was still wet and gooey. I could feel it moving down my leg slowly. I hoped it wasn't making its way into my body through the gash on my leg.

Walking up the hill was harder. I needed to put more pressure on my sprained ankle to push myself up the sloped ground.

Ugh, this was ridiculous. I probably _looked_ ridiculous. At least no one in the right mind was awake at this ungodly hour.

If everything went well, I just might be able to make it to my room, grab my things, and hit the shower before a line built up. We had co-ed showers but there were a lot of them so at least I wouldn't be waiting a long time if there was a line.

As I thought about all the worst-case scenarios, something big and wet hit me right smack dab in the middle of my forehead.

I looked up and another came and fell right in my left eye.

_Rain_? Are you freakin' kidding me?! This one goes down as a worst-case scenario.

I quickened my pace and my body groaned in pain again.

My shirt was white. I refused to be a part in the wet t-shirt contest last year and I wasn't changing my mind now.

When I finally made it to the big wooden door, I pulled with all my strength and slipped in. As it shut, the oldness of it made it groan in protest. They really needed to get that fixed.

And furthermore, this damned old school only had one elevator at the exact opposite end of the campus from where I stood. You would think that seeing as it was a private college with immensely large funds they would invest in the installation of new elevators and grease oil for all the creaking hinges around the school? Nope. They spent all their money on advertising. It was a relatively new school. My class would be the first to graduate. _How exciting_.

Whatever. It would be quicker for me to just take the stairs.

Leaning against the left banister with all my weight, I started to make my way up the three flights of stairs to my floor.

Each level was in accordance to your grade level. The highest level was for teachers and some alumni that chose to stay on school grounds. The second highest level were for those in their fourth year of undergrad, and it went down from there. The ground level had the Great Hall, the cafeteria, the gym, the labs, and a variety of other rooms. The second level was where the majority of our lectures took place.

When I finally made it to the fourth level, the level for all the second years, I was out of breath and my arms were sore from holding all my weight.

I flashed my card against the laser and the door clicked open. I tugged at the metal door and started to make my way down the long hallway.

Luckily my room was closer to the exit and so I made there quickly. Unluckily, the showers were at the very end of the hall and so I would have to manage to get all the way there without making any loud noises that would probably wake up the entire floor such as my body crashing into a door, a wall, a floor—anything really.

Room 404. I unlocked my door with the room key and tried to make my way inside as quietly as I could. There was a little bit of grayish light seeping through the blinds so I could just barely make out the shapes of objects. The floor however was still black and dark and so I had to feel for my bag of toiletries.

"_Shit_," I hissed when I hit my toe on the edge of my bed post.

I heard rustling behind me and I spun around quickly.

"Bella?" a groggy voice called out.

"It's just me Alice. I'm going to take a shower," I said as I turned back around to hunt for my stuff.

"What time is it?" she groaned. She was always groggy and disoriented when she woke up but once she washed her face, she was as perky as Lauren Mallory's fake breasts.

"Um, it's probably close to six right now," I answered her a little distracted.

Shit. I needed to hurry up. Most people didn't have class until 8 but some—usually the shallow ones who spent an obnoxious amount of time fixing their hair and make up and picking out their clothes—would wake up around 6 to take a shower.

I needed to hurry. I couldn't have Lauren seeing me when I looked like _this_. She would have a field day with the rude remarks.

And worst yet, Edward tended to finish his jog around 6. Which meant he would probably hit the showers at 6?

Shit, shit, shit.

I grabbed my towel off my chair and made my way back to the door. Alice was fast asleep again so I closed the door behind me and made my way down the hall.

I kept close to the left wall, using it as support so that I didn't put too much pressure on my ankle. I tried not to make a lot of noise as my hand gripped the doorknob of the closed doors for more support. Hopefully everyone was still fast asleep.

I was getting closer and closer to the showers with each step and my pace quickened when I saw the white fluorescents of the bathroom.

Until I came to room 426. _His_ room. Please, please, please don't be awake.

I grasped the chilled door knob with my left hand and pulled my left sore leg forward, closer to the showers.

And of course, with my great and fabulous luck—please note the heavy sarcasm—the knob turned quickly, the door swung inwards, and I slammed into a hard, warm chest.

"Ohmygosh, I so sorry," I said hurriedly as I tried to right my feet. Oh God, oh God, oh God. Please, please, please don't let it be him. Please tell me it's his roommate. Please be Emmett!

"Bella," I heard a sweet, velvet voice whisper my name.

Fuck.

"Morning Edward… sorry for erm—slamming into you," I said, a warm blush colouring my cheeks.

"It's okay," he replied in that beautiful husky morning voice of his. He stepped back and appraised me completely.

Great, just when I thought it couldn't possibly get any worse.

"Jesus, what happened to you?" he asked, concern etched in those dazzling green eyes I was melting in to.

I looked down and took in my appearance for the first time since I had made it out of the rain.

The rain damped my white shirt in patches and so now my black lace bra was relatively visible to all. There were also speckles of dirt on the right side of my shirt and my right leg was completely caked with mud and blood.

Ugh. Blood. At least the stench of wet mud was strong enough to hide the salty, copper smell of the blood.

"I um, went for a jog and slipped," I answered quietly, speaking to my chest. He's going to laugh at me.

"Oh. I heard the rain earlier so I didn't bother going today. You should have told me you were going, I would have come with you," he said. "But, it's usually really muddy and slippery when it rains," he added.

I gave a small laugh. "Yeah, I figured that out that hard way," I looked up at him and smirked. He grinned.

"You're bleeding, you know?" he said, looking down at my leg again.

"I know, I'm trying to make it to the showers to wash all this crap off of me before the whole floor wakes up."

"I was just going to take a shower myself. I have to go set up the biology lab for the first years," he said stepping out of his room and pulling the door closed behind him.

See, that was the other thing that made Edward Cullen the most sought after guy on campus. Not only was he devilishly handsome, but he was freakishly smart. A genius I tell you! Always at the top of his classes in _all_ of his classes. And seeing as I happened to be right behind him in that aspect (though my social life was the complete opposite to his busy one) we were often paired together in labs and on assignments. Not that I minded. But at the same time, having him so close did tend to make my brain go all fuzzy.

I took a slow step forward and cringed when I remembered that I wasn't gripping the handle for support anymore. With all my weight on my sprain left ankle, my face scrunched up with pain.

And it was noticable enough that he caught it.

Worriedly he asked, "What's wrong?"

"I think I sprained my ankle," I muttered. I hated sprains because it wasn't so painful that you needed to get a cast or anything but it was painful enough that you have to walk really slow and with a limp. Limps caused people to get curious and ask questions. I hated the unnecessary attention from people.

_His_ attention however, was a different case entirely.

He crouched down in front of me and got on his knees to get a better look at my swollen ankle.

I couldn't stop the gasp from my lips. When he got down in front of me, one hand on the ground for support while the other one rested comfortably on my hip, my entire body blazed with fire. It didn't help matters that I had so often fantasized this exact position though his head was a lot closer to my body and we were always in a more private location—usually my bedroom.

I felt his gentle fingers skim across the swollen area and I imagined them skimming over another swollen area of mine.

_Stop_.

I couldn't do this. I couldn't imagine him like that. Not now. Not here. Not when he was so close to me and I could very easily moan out his name accidentally.

"Yeah, I think it's just a sprain. Though it is swollen pretty badly," he said, looking up at me with those gorgeous bright eyes of his. "But I'm a little more concerned about this cut on your leg. We need to get that leg washed quickly before it gets infected," he said with that doctorly tone of his. He probably picked it up from his father, Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Him and I were well acquainted due to my...physical instability.

He stood up and wrapped his arm around my waist and draped my left arm over his shoulder.

"Try to put most of your weight on me," he said ask we slowly made our way to the showers.

The bathroom and the showers were tiled and usually slippery. Luckily, no one had showered yet and so it was still relatively dry. He helped me walk to one of the shower stalls, sliding the curtain to one side allowing me to step in.

"You think you'll be okay?" he asked, concerned.

I nodded and blushed a little. Maybe I could play it up a bit and get him to shower with me.

Hah! Yeah right. Never in a million years would he agree to that. He had the most beautiful girls throwing themselves at him. He wouldn't ever be interested in me when he's got so much better waiting for him..._begging_ for him.

I sighed. Plain-Jane Bella.

For all I knew, he and Tanya might be a 'thing' again. They had been on and off over the past few months but he always broke up with her when things got serious.

Maybe he was afraid of commitment? Or maybe Tanya wasn't his type?

I scoffed in my head. She was tall, had a gorgeous physique, and a flawless face. I'm sure she was every man's type.

"I'll be over there in that stall," he said pointing at one directly across from mine on the other side of the room.

It was a narrow hall and each wall was line with ten showers. The twenty showers in total were enough to accomodate to all the second years on the floor.

"If you need help or anything, call me, okay?" he asked, his eyes burning with something I couldn't catch because it was gone almost as soon as I made eye contact with him.

"I think I'll be okay," I murmured.

I'll admit, I was a little shocked that he was helping me without even laughing at how silly I probably look right now. I think if the positions were reversed, I wouldn't be able to contain my giggle at the situation. Instead, he was acting so concerned and helpful. It felt..._nice_. I'd never had someone take such an interest in my well-being before. After my parents divorced, I saw my dad on rare occasions and with my mom being as hay-wired as she is, no one's ever taken care of me like he was.

He nodded his head and turned, walking to the other side of the room and into the shower stall opposite from mine.

I pulled my curtain back and let out a little sigh, hoping to clear my head a little.

Of all the possible people to run in to, it had to be him.

I hooked the shower curtain to the wall so it would stay closed and then pulled my shoes and socks off very slowly. Then I peeled off my wet shirt and my bra and threw them on the bench with my muddy shoes and wet socks. I had to sit down to get my pants off and then I dropped my panties and threw them on the bench along with the rest of my things. Resting my toiletries down and my towel, I turned on the shower and adjusted it to the right temperature.

I sighed and felt my body relax under the hot water. The muddy water dripped down my body, washing away the caked on dirt and swirled around my feet.

I rubbed my hands down my right leg trying to get the mud off my skin. I washed around the wound trying not to inhale too much as the blood seeped from it and swirled and mixed with the muddy water.

When most of the mud had washed off my body, I poured a dollop of my strawberry scented body wash onto my loofah and began to scrub my body.

I felt dirty and gross so I decided I would wash my skin twice. After the first coating of bubbly foam, I rinsed to get rid of all the dirt and sweat and who knows what else that was caked to my body.

I bent down to scrub my feet and wash my swollen ankle gently.

Something red in the water caught my eye. At first I thought it was my 'time of the month' but then I remembered the gash. Before I was able to stop myself, I took an involuntary breath and caught the scent quickly.

It was strong because all the fresh blood that poured out as soon as all the cakey mud had washed away from it.

I groaned loudly as black dots began to cloud my vision. The strong stench of my own blood was making me dizzy. I grabbed the bench as my other hand flew to the wall for support but I wasn't quick enough. My bag of toiletries fell from the bench and hit the tiles loudly, bottles rolling in every direction.

Following my bag was my heavy, woozy body. My knees slammed against the floor first and then my hands and body slapped against the tile. My head rested gently on the cool tile before I lost consciousness…

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	2. Pleasure

**Hey readers!**

**First order of business, I'd like you all to give a warm welcome to my newly acquired beta: _hyacinthgirl18_. Believe me, she's even greater than her penname! So if you're sitting there at the end of this chapter wondering why my grammar has improved so greatly and everything just seems to make sense now... it's all her doing, I swear! I just get the story out and she does all the fine-tuning. It's a wonderful system.**

**Second order of business is my new announcement: this is no longer a 2 chaptered story! Yay for all those who wanted more! But I do have to warn you, this will still be a relatively short story. I'm thinking of making it about 4 chapters long but it might not even reach that length. Nonetheless, due stay tuned for updates!**

**I believe that is all. Keep in mind, this story is rated MATURE. It is NOT for the faint-hearted or the youngly ones (turn your eyes)! And off we go!**

* * *

_**Pain & Pleasure**_

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**Recap:**

BOV: _I groaned loudly as black dots began to cloud my vision. The strong stench of my own blood was making me dizzy. My knees slammed against and floor first and then my hands as my entire_ naked _body slapped against the tile. My head rested against the cool floor before I lost consciousness…_

All sentences in _italics_ are **Stephenie Meyer**'s words, not my own. No copyright infringement here!

**Pleasure**

**BPOV**

Everything was fuzzy and dark. The cool tile was helping slightly, keeping me conscious enough to hear but I was still blinded by darkness. I heard someone call my name but it sounded so far away. The sound of wet feet slapping against tile was getting louder and louder, approaching me.

I took long deep breaths trying to regain consciousness. My leg was completely submerged in water so the scent of my blood was not reaching my nose. That was a relief.

But here I was, lying naked on the bathroom floor with no one around to help but Edward.

It was then that I heard thin plastic ripping and the plastic loops holding the shower curtain up clicking together as it slid across the pole in a jagged pull.

Oh God.

I'm naked.

Edward is looking at me.

_Naked_.

At least I had fallen face forward. So what if he saw my butt? Mike always used to say I had a nice ass—he was never one for decency.

Oh God.

I felt his warm hand cup my cheek (not _that_ cheek) and pull my face up a little so his other hand could slide under my arm and wrap around my waist to pull my heavy body closer to him. Kneeling in front of me with my head gently resting in the middle of his chest and my body arched into him with his arm wrapped firmly around my waist, he used the taut muscles of his legs and pulled us both up so we were standing, me leaning against him completely.

I had never realized how strong he was before.

Then again, he'd never held me like _this_ before. I could feel his smooth, chiseled chest pressed deliciously against my wet, naked body.

"Bella," he whispered. His angelic voice sounded so worried. I wanted to soothe him. Angels shouldn't sound so pained.

I wanted to say his name.

"Bella," he said again, more urgently this time. _"Can you hear me?"_

"_No," I groaned. "Go away."_

I couldn't believe the position we were in right now. At least I was able to open my mouth somehow and my mind was conscious enough to form coherent thoughts. I still didn't have full control of my body and my head was still too heavy to pick up.

He chuckled and wrapped both his arms around my waist, pulling me to him closer. He walked the both of us backwards gently and slowly until I felt the cool tiled wall against my entire back.

I hissed a little. But it felt good. The coldness of the wall on my back and the blazing fire along my front where his body was pressed against mine felt…shockingly amazing.

I felt his towel flutter between my legs.

At least one of us was smart enough to cover themselves. Or conscious enough, I guess.

Using the wall as leverage to hold me up, he was able to pull back a little to look at me. I didn't feel as weak anymore but still, my head followed him when he pulled his chest away from me.

"Bella, are you okay?" he asked again, cupping my cheek and delicately pushing my head off of him as if it were a prized artifact. He then proceeded to inspected it just as such.

My eyes fluttered opened. And then closed instantly when the bright light scorched my retinas. I had also noticed that the room was still spinning a little.

I started to take longer, deeper breaths. I needed to say something else. He needed to know that I was okay, that I wasn't _dying_.

"Edward," I whispered his name. It came out in a soft sigh.

"Yeah. It's me. _You scared me for a minute there," he admitted after a pause_, brushing the wet strands of hair from my face.

"I fainted," I whispered again. Ugh, I hoped I didn't sound horribly like a dainty damsel in distress.

He chuckled. I could feel the vibrations of his chest moving through me. It felt good. I let out a small moan—not from the pain. Truth be told, I couldn't even pinpoint exactly which part of me was hurting.

I could however tell you the exact location pf where my body was throbbing with pleasure.

"Why did you faint?" he asked as he cupped his hand under the shower and brought the water to my face, dripping it along my forehead and wiping my cheeks softly with the back of his hand.

My eyes fluttered open again, stronger this time. I was able to find his face in the haze, and then his eyebrows, his lashes, the green orbs staring back at me. My vision became clearer as I focused on his beautiful green eyes.

"The blood. My blood. The scent of it makes me dizzy," I admitted.

It was embarrassing. I always had to run away when someone was bleeding. I had to skip class every time we did blood testing. I couldn't even dress a kid's cut without those black dots clouding my vision.

"_People can't smell blood," he contradicted, _once again sprinkling my face with the warm water to help me regain complete consciousness.

"_Well, I can – that's what makes me sick. It smells like rust…and salt." _I crinkled my nose from just remembering the smell.

_He was staring at me with an unfathomable expression._

"_What?" I asked, _puzzled at his expression. My voice still sounded weak, but slowly, my senses were coming back to me—both a good and a bad thing with him being so dangerously close to me and my nakedness.

"_It's nothing,"_ he replied softly. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I think so," I leaned my head back against the tile.

My gaze left his eyes and traveled down his face, his neck, his collarbones, his shoulders, and down his chest, right where we were pressed together tightly.

Luckily, he couldn't see my breasts. Unluckily, he couldn't see my breasts because they were pressed right against his chest. Just the thought of how close we were and how _naked_ we were made my nipples harden.

Shit. He could definitely feel _that_.

I dragged my eyes up his body again and I could feel the heat of my blush covering the entire length of my body.

"Do you think you can stand?" he asked, but his voice and eyes now had a different appeal, both were dark and husky. It was…_sexy_.

I nodded quickly, wanting to distance myself from his delectable body before I tackled his perky ass.

I felt his grip around my waist loosen and then he turned his head away to grab my towel, both arms slithering away from me. I was more or less conscious. I could both hear and see him properly. I could even smell and touch him without any problems. My muscles however, were a different story. My legs felt like Jell-O and as soon as his hands slid away from me, I felt my back sliding down the smooth tile wall before I even saw my vision fly.

His arm slipped around my waist and he caught me as I was about halfway to the ground. He pulled me up again and held me tighter than before with one arm. We were too far from the bench for him to reach my towel sitting on the very end, away from the spray of the shower.

"I thought you said you were okay," he narrowed his eyes playfully at me.

I looked up at him and smirked defiantly. "I guess I lied."

And just like that, he gave me that infamous crooked grin—the one that made the ladies swoon—and then my legs gave out for the third time since I had stepped into this godforsaken shower.

He panicked and pressed himself against me for more support.

"What's wrong? Can you still smell the blood?" he asked, no doubt wondering why I was losing consciousness once again.

His eyes were wild. They drove _me_ wild.

I could have chosen to lie instead and nod at his assumption, but my telltale blush always gave it away.

"What?" he asked, his warm, wet hand swiping my cheek softly as if he could wash away the flush.

Like I hadn't tried that before.

"It's nothing," I said, slowly trying to regain control of my body.

"Tell me, or else I'll let you go right here, right now," he threatened but his eyes gave it all away.

"You would never," I whispered quietly, positive that he was too good of a man to ever leave me in that kind of position.

And so he used those beautiful eyes against me, widening them innocently. "_Please_ tell me?"

I lost my breath. How did he _do_ that? I groaned and dropped my head to his chest so he couldn't see me.

"You dazzled me," I said against his wet skin.

"I dazzled you?" he repeated, trying to make out the words and probably trying to figure out what it meant.

_I_ wasn't even sure I knew what I was saying. But I didn't want to explain. So instead, I gave a simple nod, hoping with all my might that he would let it go.

And then he just chuckled, simple as that.

"And do I dazzle you a lot?" He probed. He sounded hopeful—but then again, it could have been my wishful thinking getting the better of me.

I lifted my head so I could see him and gauge his expression. "Frequently," I responded honestly.

He grinned in reply. "Really?" he asked once more and this time, I just rolled my eyes and dropped my head against the cool tile.

He laughed. A full, throaty chuckle that shook his entire frame… and mine.

He leaned in really close, enough so that I could feel his breath on my skin and turned his head slightly so that I could just barely feel the electrifying touch of his lips against my cheek.

"Well, if it's any consolation," he said, his voice deep and rough, "you dazzle me quite frequently, as well."

And just as easily, the grin I had felt against my cheek was gone, replaced by a sweet, chaste kiss.

The air rushed out of my lungs. How many times had I imagined his lips on my skin? And yet, it had never felt so _good_. I was burning from just that peck.

I turned my head slightly to get a better glimpse of him. "Really?" I asked, shocked beyond a doubt.

He simply nodded as his eyes continued to do that smoldering thing.

And then I was no longer naked, no longer in a wet, tiled bathroom with the shower running, no longer panicking about whether or not I was going to die from massive blood loss because at that moment, it was just me and him. Our bodies pressed hot and tight together.

I was completely and utterly locked in his gaze. _Both_ of us doing that smoldering thing.

And when his head tilted closer to mine almost inconceivably, I too tilted towards him to get closer so our lips were just a breaths width apart. His gaze flickered from my eyes to my lips quickly before he closed in the distance, his eyes fluttering shut as his lips pressed gently to mine.

After seeing him glance at my mouth, I knew it was coming. I knew we were going to kiss.

_What neither of us was prepared for was my reaction._

_Blood boiled under my skin, burned in my lips. My breath came in a wild gasp. My fingers knotted in his hair, clutching him to me. My lips parted as I breathed in his heady scent._

The rigor of my actions took him by surprise before he gave out a throaty groan, fisting my hair in his hand while his other arm drew me even closer to him. His tongue greedily slid out and brushed along the bottom of my lip which he held softly between his teeth and just as quickly, my mouth opened, allowing him to pierce my depths.

We battled for dominance endlessly. His tongue fought with mine to massage and caress. He tasted sweeter than the best honey and better than the finest wine.

One hand let go of his hair and trailed down his neck and back until my fingers brushed the soft towel. I wanted to rip it off.

Until I heard the bathroom door open. More people were coming in to use the communal showers.

I froze noticing the slightly ripped shower curtain that was still hanging wide open. Both Edward and I would be in plain sight if anyone chose to walk past our particular shower-stall. Edward noticed my rigid posture and pulled away, his eyes searching mine until he felt a draft of cold from behind and understood my panic.

But that didn't stop him. His hand that had been buried in my hair left suddenly, swinging behind him to yank the curtain closed. Just as quickly he turned back to me, his fingers trailing against my hip as he pressed his lips to me once more.

This time I was the one that let out a hearty moan. He was delicious. His fingers trailed down my waist, along my thigh until he dipped his hand under and hoisted my leg over his hip.

I could feel him now. Everywhere. Hot. Blazing. Exhilaratingly close.

My arms went around his neck and clasped tight as his other arm left my waist and lifted my other leg over his hip, pulling my body higher and closer to him. The friction caused his towel to loosen and fall heavily onto the wet floor.

I could just barely feel his hardness as it brushed against my warm, slippery underside when he pulled me closer to his lips. He let out a hard, rough groan and bit down gently on my jaw hovering right above his lips. Wrapping my legs around him tighter, I captured his lips with mine and caressed his tongue with deep strokes, my hand slipping back into his bronze hair.

But I couldn't hold out for long. I pulled back from his lips and heaved in a necessary breath of air.

He didn't even pause and his lips never left my skin as he ventured from my mouth, down to my neck and across my supple skin.

I tilted away allowing him more room and when I felt his tongue dart out and lick across my collarbone, I let out a breathy sigh.

"_Edwar_—"

"EDWARD?" I heard a loud voice bellowed.

And it was most definitely not _my_ voice.

I felt his body freeze against mine.

And I heard the same loud voice again. "Edward, are you in here, man?"

He pulled back from my neck with a groan.

"Yes, Emmett," he called through clenched teeth. I didn't miss how strained his voice sounded. It made me feel a little smug. _I_ caused that frustration…and partly Emmett, I suppose.

"Professor Banner wants to know if you're going to help set up that bio-lab for the first years?" Emmett asked, his voice carrying throughout the entire bathroom.

"I'll be there in a sec," Edward answered back.

His eyes drifted back to mine, wild but pained.

"I'm so sorry, Bella," he whispered, fear clouding his eyes as he realized our…position.

I grinned. "I'm not."

It effectively broke the tension when he chuckled musically in reply. The tremors against the sensitive skin of my neck caused my whole body to shudder and my nipples to harden again.

That was becoming a problem.

But he didn't seem to take notice as his hands gently left my thighs, trailing over my bottom and back up to my hip, still holding me firmly so that I didn't collapse.

"Can you stand?" he asked and I nodded in reply. "Are you sure this time?" he smirked, remembering the last time.

He turned, one hand still holding my waist as his other hand flashed out and turned off the shower before he leaned away to grab my towel and hand it to me. I opened it and wrapped it around me quickly, hoping to preserve what dignity I had left as he crouched down to grab his soaked towel off the ground. Using the free end of my towel, I wiped the wetness from his face and chest as he tried to squeeze out the excess water from his drenched one.

I tried with all my might not to look down. Forced myself not to take a glimpse of Edward in all his naked glory.

He wrapped his wet towel around him and it hung heavily on his waist.

He led me to the bench with one hand securely around me. "Wait here," he said, as he seated me down. "I'll get dressed and then walk you to your room, okay?"

I nodded and he left, slipping out the shower and back to his stall.

I knelt down and picked up my scattered bottles, putting them back into my toiletries bag. I held it close to me, along with my muddy clothing and waited for him.

He was back in minutes, dressed in a clean white tee and tan pants. Yummy.

Not wasting any time at all, Edward wrapped one arm around my waist as his other arm hooked under my knees and he _scooped me up as if I weighed ten pounds instead of a hundred and ten._

I let out a little squeal in surprise and he chuckled as he walked me out of the bathroom and all the way to my room. He made sure to hold my towel close to my legs so that I wouldn't give anyone a peepshow as we walked down the long stretch of the hallway. The fact that I was completely naked except for the teensy towel, being held in Edward's strong arms while he walked me to my door, made my entire body burn red.

Luckily, only two people saw us. Unluckily, one happened to be Lauren Mallory, who hated me for reasons I didn't think I'd ever know, along with her best friend, Jessica Stanley, who just happened to be the school's gossip queen.

I cringed internally when I saw both her and Lauren gape at us as I clutched to Edward desperately. There was no point in hiding my face either. They'd already seen and had already assessed.

This wasn't good.

Edward seemed to take no notice as he walked right passed them without a second glance.

He put me down on my feet gently and waited patiently as I hurriedly tried to unlock my door to get away from the questioning eyes.

When I finally got the blasted thing open, I slid in and pulled Edward in behind me. This probably wasn't the best idea seeing as I was in just a towel and Jessica and Lauren were standing right outside my doorway.

His hand against my lower back steered me to my bed where he sat me down and crouched in front of me. Without saying anything, his picked up my leg and brushed his fingers over my swollen ankle.

"Make sure you ice this, okay?" he said quietly in the confines of my room.

I nodded and watched as he gently caressed my foot, taking care to check that it was okay whilst massaging the ache away. It honestly didn't hurt that much when his fingers stopped rubbing and soothing.

He picked up my other leg and inspected the cut. I made sure to hold my breath but I continued to watch as he assessed it from different angles.

"I don't think you'll need stitches but I'll come by later to give it a good cleaning, okay?"

I nodded again, still at a lost for words. He put my foot down gently and rocked forward on his knees, closer to me. His fingers brushed my wet hair away and then trailed down my cheek softly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked again.

I couldn't help but smile when I nodded. Why was he just so darn cute? And sweet? And caring?

"Kay," he said, picking himself off the ground so he was standing in front of me.

"I'll come by after I'm done the lab to dress that cut. But please make sure you remember to ice your ankle so the swelling goes down," he instructed. He would make a fine doctor one day.

I looked up at him and smiled again. He returned it before he swiftly leaned down to give me a soft kiss on the forehead.

"I'll see you later," he whispered against my skin before he walked out, pausing once to look back and give me a cheery grin as he opened the door and walked away.

I fell back on my bed because I knew what would come next and I highly doubted there was anything I could do to prepare myself for the future.

Lauren? Jessica! Vile, explicit gossip.

Oh, _joy_.

**Did you like it? Wasn't my spelling and grammar _SO_ much better in this chapter (all thanks to my wonderful beta)?**

**Please do drop a review! I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts on this chapter or the plotline and feel free to give me ideas on where I should take it next! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEWWWWWWW!!!**


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